10 August 1971 - The Coming Of Keane

On 10 August 1971, future Manchester United and Republic of Ireland captain Roy Keane was born in Cork. A tenacious central midfielder, he was known for his competitive spirit both on and off the pitch.



He began his career with Cobh Ramblers (1989-90) and Nottingham Forest (1990-93), but spent the majority of his career at Manchester United where he played from 1993 to 2005. United paid a then-record British transfer fee of £3.75 million to sign him from Forest and Keane delivered instantly, scoring a brace in his Old Trafford debut, a 3-0 victory over Sheffield United. That first season, United went on their first league and FA Cup double.



He would go on to win seven league titles, four FA Cups, and the Champions League with United, but his success on the pitch was often overshadowed by his temper, with Keane receiving a total of 11 red cards during his time with United, often for violent conduct. In a 2001 match against Manchester City, Keane was ejected for brutally tackling Alf-Inge Haaland. He later revealed in his autobiography that the challenge had been an intentional retaliation for a dust-up the two had had in a previous match. The admission resulted in a further 5-match ban and a fine of £150,000.



Keane left United in 2005 after several public disagreements with his teammates and manager Alex Ferguson. He moved to Celtic, but made only 13 appearances for them before retiring in 2006.



He turned to management later that year and has helmed Sunderland (2006-08) and Ipswich Town (2009-11). Although he was sacked from Ipswich in January 2011, he still lives nearby with his wife and five kids.

8 July 1980 - Ireland's Lucky Striker

On 8 July 1980, future Tottenham Hotspur striker and all-time Republic of Ireland scoring leader Robbie Keane was born in Dublin.

Keane began his professional career in 1997 with Wolverhampton and scored twice on his debut for the club. After only two seasons there, he moved to Coventry City in 1999 for £6 million, a British record at the time for a teenager, and again notched a brace on his club debut. He stayed with Coventry for only a single season and spent the next three seasons with three different clubs: Inter (where he made only 6 appearances in the 2000-01 season), then Leeds United (where he played from 2000-02), and Tottenham.

He enjoyed relative stability at Tottenham, playing there for a total of eight seasons from 2002 to 2011, broken by short spells at Liverpool (19 appearances in the 2008-09 season), Celtic (16 appearances in the 2009-10 season), and West Ham (9 appearances in the 2010-11 season). Over the course of his club career, he has scored 210 goals in 549 appearances.

In 1998, while still with Wolves, Keane earned his first cap for Ireland. He has since played for them a total of 108 times. In September 2004, he scored his 21st goal for Ireland to match the record set by Niall Quinn, then passed it with a brace the next month. His current tally stands at 51 after he scored both goals in Ireland's 2-0 win over Macedonia in a Euro 2012 qualifier played in June 2011.

11 June 1990 - I Prefer To Think He Was Just Helping Fertilize The Pitch

On June 11 1990, England's Gary Lineker had two memorable World Cup moments: scoring a goal against Ireland and crapping his pants.

Playing before a crowd of 35,238 at Cagliari's Stadio Sant'Elia, England met Ireland in the first group stage match for both teams. Lineker, who had just finished his first season with Tottenham Hotspur as the top flight's leading scorer, put the Three Lions ahead in the 8th minute. Chris Waddle sent a long ball into the box, where Lineker rushed onto it and chested it down past the prone Irish keeper. The ball bounced over the keeper's legs and rolled toward the goal, only for Lineker to catch up to it and give it sliding kick home.

Irish midfielder Kevin Sheedy scored an equalizer in the 72rd minute and the match ended 1-1. Both teams advanced out of the group stage, with Ireland eventually falling to Italy in the quarterfinals and England to West Germany in the semifinals.

At the time, the press reported that Lineker had been suffering from stomach cramps during the match. But twenty years later, in 2010, Lineker revealed the full extent of his suffering--while trying to making a tackle, he lost control of his bowels. Footage of the match shows Lineker sliding around on his bottom and wiping his hands on the grass. In describing the incident, he remarked that he "never found so much space" afterward.

21 December 1995 - England's Honorary Irishman

On 21 December 1995, Jack Charlton resigned as manager of the Republic of Ireland. At the time, he had the highest winning percentage of any non-caretaker manager for the national team.

Charlton had been an outstanding center back for England and Leeds United, the club where he spent his entire career. He retired from playing in 1973, having won a League title, an FA Cup, a League Cup, and two Inter-Cities Fairs Cups with Leeds, and the World Cup with England. He moved directly into management, taking over at then-Second Division Middlesbrough in 1973. He guided them to promotion in his first season, earning himself the 1974 English Manager of the Year award in the process.

He left Middlesbrough in 1977 and, after spells at Sheffield Wednesday (1977-83) and Newcastle (1984-85), he took charge of the Republic of Ireland. As the national team's first English manager, his appointment was controversial, but he quickly converted his critics by qualifying for the 1988 European Championships, then taking the team to their first-ever World Cup in 1990. There, they advanced to the quarterfinals before narrowly losing to Italy, 1-0.

Ireland again qualified for the World Cup in 1994, where they beat Italy in the first round before getting knocked out by the Netherlands in the second round. Ireland met Holland again in a playoff for Euro '96, with the Dutch winning again to eliminate the Irish from contention. Charlton resigned soon after, with a record of 47 wins, 30 draws, and only 17 losses. At the time, it was the best winning percentage for any Ireland manager at an even 50%. Since then, only Brian Kerr (2003-05) has done better at 53.13%.

18 November 2009 - Henry's Hand Gives Ireland The Finger

On 18 November 2009, France secured their place at the 2010 World Cup thanks to one of football's most controversial goals.

Facing Ireland in a playoff after both finished second in their respective qualification groups, France were heavily favored to advance. They won the first leg in Dublin, 0-1, so that they needed only a draw in Paris to advance. But a 32nd-minute goal from Irish striker Robbie Keane put the visitors ahead. Les Bleus desperately searched for an equalizer, but were repeatedly denied by the brilliant play of keeper Shay Given.

With the sides level at 1-1 on aggregate at the end of regulation, the match went into extra time, when a Florent Malouda free kick found forward Thierry Henry in the box. Henry clearly controlled the ball with his left arm, before centering it for defender William Gallas, who knocked it home. Given and the other Irish players immediately protested, but the referee allowed the goal to stand.

Time then expired with Ireland unable to find another goal, so France won 2-1 on aggregate. After the match, Henry admitted to using his hand, but downplayed his responsibility, saying "I'm not the ref." Ireland petitioned FIFA for a replay, but were denied.

Although frustrated by the loss, Irish supporters took a measure of solace from France's poor World Cup performance, as Les Bleus managed only one draw and two losses and were eliminated in the group stage.

13 February 1999 - A Lesson For France Unheeded

On 13 February 1999, Nigerian forward Kanu made a memorable—and controversial—debut for Arsenal, who had just signed the 22-year old from Inter earlier that month.

The Gunners were hosting Sheffield United in the 5th round of the FA Cup and had taken a 1-0 lead thanks to a 28th-minute goal from midfielder Patrick Vieira. Sheffield United equalized shortly after the break with a 48th-minute header from Brazilian forward Marcelo, so the score was even at 1-1 when Kanu (above at far left) came on in the 66th minute.

With about 10 minutes left in the match, a United player went down with an injury just as Dennis Bergkamp was chasing down a ball played back to the United keeper. The keeper kicked the ball into touch and the official halted play briefly while the injured player received treatment. When Arsenal's Ray Parlour took the ensuing throw, most of the players on the pitch expected him to give possession back to United.

Nobody told Kanu, however, who received the throw and raced down the field and crossed the ball for his teammate, winger Marc Overmars (above, second from left), to slot home. United's players and staff protested, but the goal stood and Arsenal emerged 2-1 winners.

After the match, Arsenal boss Arsène Wenger agreed that the final goal had been scored unfairly and proposed that the match be replayed. After some initial hesitation, the FA relented and the replay was held ten days later at Highbury, where Arsenal again won 2-1.

When former Gunner Thierry Henry later scored a controversial goal for France to eliminate the Republic of Ireland from 2010 World Cup qualification, Wenger urged his home country to offer a replay, but the FFF declined.

17 October 2007 - Steve Staunton's Last Stand

On 17 October 2007, the Republic of Ireland narrowly avoided what would have been one of their worst home defeats in history by scoring in the last minute of extra time to draw with Cyprus, 1-1. The match was a Euro 2008 qualifer played before a crowd of 54,000 at Croke Park in Dublin.

The Irish side went into the match vowing to exact revenge for a 5-2 loss inflicted by the Cypriots in Nicosia on 7 October 2006. That loss placed immense pressure on Republic boss Steve Staunton, who had assumed the post in January 2006.

In the rematch, Ireland tested the Cypriots early, but were unable to beat goalkeeper Antonis Georgallides. Irish captain Robbie Keane had the best chance to put the Republic ahead in the 75th minute, but his header went inches wide. Instead, it was Cyprus who took the lead when, in the 80th minute, defender Stelios Okkarides headed the ball in past Irish keeper Shay Given.

The Republic's chances appeared all but over until the 93rd minute, when Ireland defender Steve Finnan found the back of the net with what was nearly the last kick of the match.

The last-gasp goal may have preserved the Republic's pride, but the draw eliminated them from Euro 2008 with one match left to play. Staunton, who still holds the most caps for the Republic at 102, was sacked one week later.

25 June 1990 - Nine Months Later, Many Irish Babies Were Born

On 25 June 1990, the Republic of Ireland, competing in its first ever World Cup, defeated Romania 5-4 on penalties before a crowd of 31,818 at Genoa's Stadio Luigi Ferraris. The win sent Ireland through to the quarterfinals, which is the farthest the Republic has ever advanced in World Cup competition.

Ireland survived the group stage despite scoring only two goals and drawing all three matches with the other members of the group: 1-1 against England, 0-0 against Egypt, and 1-1 against the Netherlands. The Netherlands had similarly drawn all of its group matches and scored only two goals, so that Ireland and the Dutch side were tied for second place in the group, even on points (3), goal differential (0), goals for (2), and goals against (2). In order to determine the final placement, FIFA officials drew lots. Ireland won to claim second place. (The Netherlands still advanced, as their 3 points placed them among the top four third-place teams, all of whom qualified for the knockout rounds under the rules in place that year.)

The Irish seemed intent on drawing the match with Romania as well. While the Romanians played with flair and style, the Irish matched them with grit and determination. Neither side was able to score through 90 minutes of regulation and 30 minutes of overtime, so the match went to penalty kicks. Even then, there was little to separate the sides, as the first four kickers from each team successfully converted.

That changed, however, when Romanian forward Daniel Timofte stepped up to take his side's fifth kick. Timofte, who had come on as a substitute in the 96th minute, sent his shot to the left, where Irish keeper Pat "Packie" Bonner (pictured) dove to meet it and swatted it away. Forward David O'Leary, who had come on in the 95th minute, then put his shot past Romanian keeper and captain, Silviu Lung, giving Ireland the victory.

After the match, the Irish team's English manager, Jack Charlton, told the press: ''The pubs will sell more booze tonight than they have in the last year. There's going to be a party this town has never seen the likes of before, a party Dublin has never seen the likes of before." Although Ireland lost in the quarterfinals to Italy, the shootout with Romania has become famous and was later immortalized in the film version of Roddy Doyle's The Van.

[Note: The clip below has some language that might be considered NSFW.]